Visitor Attraction Management

VISITOR ATTRACTION
MANAGEMENT
1

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................2
TASK 1.........................................................................................................................................3
1.1 – DISCUSS THE OVERLAP OF VISITOR ATTRACTIONS IN RELATION TO PARTICULAR
TYPES OF ATTRACTION...........................................................................................................3
1.2 – ANALYSE THE IMPORTANCE OF DIFFERENT VISITOR ATTRACTIONS............................5
TASK 2.........................................................................................................................................7
2.1 – EVALUATE THE NEEDS AND MOTIVATIONS OF DIFFERENT VISITOR TYPES..................7
2.2 – EVALUATE IMPACTS OF TOURISM ON VISITOR ATTRACTIONS IN THE UNITED
KINGDOM...............................................................................................................................8
2.3 – ANALYZE THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT THEORIES OF TOURIST MOTIVATION ON THE
MANAGEMENT OF VISITOR ATTRACTIONS............................................................................9
TASK 3.......................................................................................................................................10
3.1 – DISCUSS THE PROCESS AND POTENTIAL ISSUES INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF
VISITOR ATTRACTIONS.........................................................................................................10
TASK 4.......................................................................................................................................12
4.1 – ANALYSE DIFFERENT VISITOR MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.......................................12
4.2 – EVALUATE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES IN RELATION TO SUSTAINABILITY..............13
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................15
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INTRODUCTION
From this assignment, a knowledge and understanding of the nature, development and
management of visitor attraction can be gained. The importance and range of visitor
attractions will be explained in detail and the process of development for the establishment
of new visitor attraction will also be highlighted. The different types of visitors, their impact
on the tourist place and economy of the nation will be discussed (Dewhurst and Thwaites,
2014). There are various theories of tourist motivation which helps in the management of
attraction of visitors. The problems occurring in the management of visitor attraction will
also be evaluated. There are different techniques available to the managers of visitor
attraction to achieve the sustainability.
Visitor attractions can be defined as either natural locations or manmade infrastructures
which possess a special attraction for the tourists from all over the world and also the local
residents. The most significant element in the tourism industry is that particular attraction
and it plays a role of motivation for the tourism industry and to maintain it becomes their
responsibility.
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TASK 1
1.1 – DISCUSS THE OVERLAP OF VISITOR ATTRACTIONS IN RELATION TO
PARTICULAR TYPES OF ATTRACTION
Visitor attractions are the main motivators
for the trips of the travellers and can be
considered as its centre of the product. If
there are no attractions for the visitors
then there will be no need for the services
of the tourism industry. There are many
factors for classifying the visitor
attraction, the man-made buildings are
one of the major tourist attractions and it
can be a worship place or any place for
leisure. Many theme parks and museums
are also built for the entertainment and
education of the tourists and they always
remain the major attraction for them.
In the United Kingdom, there are many
places of attraction and this makes the UK
a great place for the tourism. More and
more revenue can be generated out of the
tourism activities (Falk and Dierking,
2016). The main aim of building the places
like Thorpe Park, London eye etc and
organising different events like Eurovision
singing contest, Glastonbury etc. is to
attract the tourists and a festival can be
organised on a regular basis. The man-
made attractions in the United Kingdom
are also a big part of tourism industry like
the museums which promote the art and
gallery work for the better knowledge and
education of the tourists.
The British Museum is located in the
Bloomsbury of London and is a public
institution which is dedicated to the
history of human, art and the culture. It is
made with the Greek revival architecture
style by a number of leading architects. It
has grown so much that it became one of
the largest museums in the world which
covers an area of 990000 sq. Ft. It displays
the various changing roles in the currency
and exchange in the states of communist
from the Russian revolution 1917.
Currently, it has a permanent collection of
8 million artworks from all over the
continents. It is very beneficial to visit the
museum by the students and researchers
to gain knowledge about the history.
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The National Maritime Museum is
situated in Greenwich, London and is
considered as the leading maritime
museum of the United Kingdom and is the
largest museum of its own kind in the
whole world. It possesses a vast collection
of charts, maps and artworks and various
other objects. It is a fun place for kids as it
brings an action-packed adventure and a
separate gallery for kids under the age of
seven. It also provides beach photography
which also features new work by Martin
Parr. Delicious food can also be enjoyed at
the Parkside cafe and terrace.
The Queen's house museum was a royal
residence at some time, located at
Greenwich and comes in the district of
London. There are great works by the
leading artists from all over the world can
be seen, it also includes the portrait of
Queen Elizabeth 1. The stories from past
of England can be uncovered inside the
royal palace (Scott, 2016). It is considered
as one of the must-see attractions of
London and the beautiful tulip stairs can
also be explored inside the museum.
These museums are the most visited
places in the United Kingdom and are
considered knowledgeable and enjoyable
in each and every way. These are
maintained in a good manner and people
are attracted towards them.
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1.2 – ANALYSE THE IMPORTANCE OF DIFFERENT VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
Without the attraction of tourists, any
nation’s economy would not be able to
survive. For the attraction of tourists, it
requires investment by the government
sector or the private sector so that the
place can be visited and appreciated by
the travellers. Investment in infrastructure
and the development of roads and
providing accommodation automatically
makes the beaches and mountains an
attractive tourist place (Vanhove, 2017).
The visitor attraction gives so many
benefits to the nation of the economy.
The economy of United Kingdom depends
very heavily on the tourism industry and
thus it is important to maintain and
develop the tourist places to attract the
travellers.
It also generates employment and
revenue for the whole country. In the
United Kingdom, there is a high demand
for the skilled and unskilled workers in the
tourism industry as it is the largest and
most growing sector of the country.
Through the visitor attraction, various
other sectors are also being developed
simultaneously like the hospitality and
transportation sector. They provide their
services to the tourists and thus generate
more and more revenue and tax for the
United Kingdom.
There are many visitor attractions in the
UK like Stonehenge is a world famous
heritage site and is a matter of pride for
the UK. For Visit Britain, it is necessary to
develop and implement effective
strategies so that maximum benefit can
be obtained from the visitors and high-
quality service can be given to them.
There is a great importance of places like
British Museum, National Maritime
Museum and Queen's House museum in
the United Kingdom and people from all
over the world visit these places because
of their unique artwork.
[Source:
http://metro.co.uk/2017/09/27/world-
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tourism-day-how-many-tourists-visit-the-
uk-and-where-do-they-go-6957820/]
Museums achieved a great success in the
history of Britain and play an important
role in the tourism of United Kingdom.
The country attracts millions of
international and domestic travellers, they
attract the visitors with their objects and
tell the stories from around the world and
offers them knowledge about the place.
The tourism industry of UK has grown by
2.6% between 2009 and 2018, which is
similar to the growth rate of construction
and retail industries (Foster and Sheppard,
2016). Tourism is the fifth largest industry
in the UK and has the most popular
destinations which attract almost 32
million international visitors every year.
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TASK 2
2.1 – EVALUATE THE NEEDS AND MOTIVATIONS OF DIFFERENT VISITOR
TYPES
Since the human history, there is always a social factor of the need to escape from the world
on a temporary basis. The tourists prefer to go for the environment where it is different
from the daily grind. This is the basic need to travel and form holiday motives. Needs and
motivations are the basic part of the human engine so that they can play an important role
in the tourism mechanism (Falk, 2016). The needs and motivations of travelling remove the
feeling of dissatisfaction and if once a need of travel is satisfied then it ceases to exist. In the
travellers, there are basically five layers of motivation seen which are as follows:
 Self-realisation – This is the most basic motivation factor for the travellers and a
search for happiness is done by the tourists.
 Self-esteem – There are self-esteem needs in a human by which self-development is
done through natural and cultural activities.
 Social needs – The travellers tend to travel more so that they can spend relaxing
time with their family and friends.
 Stimulation – If there are a very strong feeling and an urge to travel inside the
traveller, then the stimulation needs arise.
 Relaxation – It is necessary and important to get relaxed in a while and to take a
break so that a fresh start can be given to life again.
In the United Kingdom, there are various places that attract the tourists and fulfil their need
and urge to travel, also motivate them to travel more (Liu, et al. 2016). It is the main task of
the tourism industry to motivate the travellers so that they can invest and travel the world
with high level of comfort. There are different types of travellers with different needs like
youngsters travel for adventure, adults travel for relaxing with family and gain knowledge.
All the needs are fulfilled by the tourism industry by adopting various strategies.
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2.2 – EVALUATE IMPACTS OF TOURISM ON VISITOR ATTRACTIONS IN THE
UNITED KINGDOM
The following impacts of tourism can be seen in the United Kingdom:
ECONOMIC IMPACT: The tourism industry changed the economic structure of UK. The
economic impact of tourism can be positive and negative. For the local people of UK,
tourism is the main source of income as the tourists spend a lot on the goods and services
and the products related to tourism (Vanhove, 2017). The support from government needs
to be present for the development of tourism. The following points indicate the economic
impact of tourism development:
 Rise in the income of local residents
 Increase in opportunity for jobs
 Increase in the number of hotels and resorts
 Increase in the cost of land and housing
SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACT: When the quality of life of the local residents of UK improves,
the social impact of tourism can be seen. It also forms an interaction between the residents
and the visitors by which social transformation can be promoted. The attitudes of the local
people towards the visitors also decide the positive and negative impact on the
development of tourism. The points that indicate social impact are as follows:
 Increase in population
 Increasing standard of living of people
 Change in the values and customs of Uk
 Change in the occupational structure of UK
PHYSICAL IMPACT: The physical impact of tourism is a qualitative measure, unlike the
economic impacts which were the quantitative measurement (Mason, 2015). The tourism
industry of UK creates a high amount of pressure on the local natural resources which are
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limited and also affects food and other raw materials. The points that indicate physical
impact is as follows:
 Increase in levels of noise and air pollution
 The methods of sewage and garbage disposal
 Development of basic infrastructure
 Conditions of road and the ferry services
2.3 – ANALYZE THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT THEORIES OF TOURIST
MOTIVATION ON THE MANAGEMENT OF VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
Motivating the tourists is important so that people can feel the need to travel for personal
fulfilment. There are various theories to motivate the tourists and have an effect on the
management of visitor attractions. Some of the theories are explained below:
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS: The main aim of this theory is to explain that the basic
needs of the human should be met as soon as possible and before they become more
motivated to achieve the higher level of needs (Anderson, 2014). The hierarchy consists of
five levels and in case of tourism, the five hierarchies are self-realisation, self-esteem, social
needs, stimulation and relaxation. These are the different needs of the visitors which should
be considered a motivating factor for the tourists and also the tourism industry so that their
revenue can be increased.
HERTZBERG’S TWO FACTOR THEORY: It is also known as dual factor theory or the
motivation-hygiene theory. It mentions various satisfactory and dissatisfactory factors which
can positively and negatively motivate the people. Travellers are motivated to travel
frequently which can increase their level of satisfaction. Visit Britain can adopt many
strategies and give facilities and discounts so that the level of dissatisfaction can be reduced
in the tourists.
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TASK 3
3.1 – DISCUSS THE PROCESS AND POTENTIAL ISSUES INVOLVED IN THE
DEVELOPMENT OF VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
Merlin Entertainments Plc and the London Borough of Newham are establishing a new
theme park at Stratford, London. As a tourism consultant, the development process for the
same will be elaborated. The establishment of theme park starts with the vision of owner
which is driven by a creative concept, then the study of market and recommendations are
carried out, the attraction program and the concept of development will be made like the
need for attractions, food, merchandise, levels of staffing etc. The master plan is initiated at
this point in time with the business planning and financing, its sources and needs. Then the
full-fledged marketing plan should be built and engineering studies should be completed at
this level. Construction should begin and rides and various shows should be installed as per
the design. Before the grand opening of the theme park, the testing and training of rides
and shows should be carried out so that the risk factor is eliminated (Connell, et al. 2015).
There are uncountable numbers of theme parks in the UK, which provide a relaxing and
enjoyable day for the visitors. Developing a theme park in spite of various theme parks
already present such as Thorpe Park is a bit risky so the new park should be more exciting
with new adventurous rides.
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[Source: http://blog.superbreak.com/travel-ideas/summer-sizzlers-at-the-uks-top-theme-
parks/]
The issues in the development of visitor attractions are as follows:
LOCATION: The location of the theme park should be in the outer areas of the city so that
visitors can enjoy their long drive from the city to the park. If the location of the theme park
is not appropriate, then the visitors may not visit the park.
FUNDING: Establishment of theme park requires a huge amount of funding for acquiring the
assets such as land, machinery. The sources of funds can be an issue in the process and it
can be obtained either from the government or can be obtained from the public. The
planning of the process should be so strong that funding can be obtained easily.
TECHNOLOGY: The technological factors in a theme park have a great importance as the
visitors visiting a theme park always look for new and adventurous rides and shows.
Development of such rides requires technological assistance so that innovative ideas can be
implemented.
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TASK 4
4.1 – ANALYSE DIFFERENT VISITOR MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
There are various tools and strategies for the management of visitor that are opted by the
travel agencies. They give benefits to both the traveller and the trip advisors or travel
agencies. As a travel consultant of Visit Britain, a task is given to form a management
strategy so that the number of visitors can be increased by increasing the visitor attractions.
The main aim to form a strategy are monitoring of visitors, providing guidance and
information to them and also restricting them. The measures to form a management
strategy are as follows:
 A regular monitoring system should be used so that better guidance can be provided
to the visitors.
 New routes should be developed and information signs should be installed and
maintained.
 The awareness for monitoring of visitors should be increased at the political and staff
level.
The revenue of the tourism industry depends totally on the experience of customers and
not on the selling of goods and services. Therefore, the main desires of the customers are
targeted so that opportunities can be created for the tourism planner material. The market
should be understood before gaining an idea of the expectations and needs of the
travellers. For designing the strategies, the first step is to make the tourist destination
attractive for the tourist and it is necessary to know the visitor first and what he needs.
Different profiles of visitors help the travel advisor to know about the visitor (Page, 2014).
The profile includes information regarding their patterns of spending money, the
demographics of an individual visitor or the group of the visitor. The management system of
tourist destination should be studied and data should be collected, distributed and
manipulated into useful information. The stakeholders with regard to the tourist destination
should be united so that the destination's value can be increased as compared to other
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tourist destinations. The travellers form a brand image in their minds regarding the tourist
destination long before they visit the place. These perceptions can be made from media and
other sources of promotion.
4.2 – EVALUATE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES IN RELATION TO
SUSTAINABILITY
A sustainable impact is very necessary to be ensured on the tourist destinations and the
local community, which are most affected. The perception of the travellers needs to be
understood along with the demand and supply of tourism. Local residents are the people
which are most affected by the tourism and they can be counted as the most important
stakeholders whose views are necessary to be taken regarding the same. The natural and
cultural resources of the country can also be conserved if the tourism is carried out properly
and it will lead to more and more generation of wealth (Mowforth and Munt, 2015). The
local residents also suffer a lot because of the tourism and their negative impacts can also
be directly seen on them. A survey should be carried out among the residents so that their
attitudes can be checked upon before making it a tourist destination. In spite of the
availability of scope in the development of tourism, sometimes the idea has to be dropped
because of the wrong attitude of the local residents.
The results obtained from the survey can be used to make sure that the development in
tourism leads to improvement in the environmental, social and economic issues which are
related to the tourism. The risks associated and chances of benefits should also be
evaluated using the survey information.
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CONCLUSION
From the above assignment, it can be concluded that there are several factors that can
affect or attract the visitors to a particular tourist destination. Various motivational theories
can be adopted so that tourists can be inspired to travel more and more, keeping in mind
their needs and expectations. A development process of a theme park is also discussed and
the issues involved with the same. The management strategies can also be formed and
implied to attract the visitors and these strategies also affect the sustainability of the tourist
destination.
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REFERENCES
 Anderson, A., 2014. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The Prairie Light Review, 36(2),
p.7.
 Connell, J., Page, S.J. and Meyer, D., 2015. Visitor attractions and events: Responding
to seasonality. Tourism Management, 46, pp.283-298.
 Dewhurst, P.D. and Thwaites, E., 2014. Visitor attraction management.
Entertainment Management: Towards Best Practice, p.272.
 Falk, J.H. and Dierking, L.D., 2016. The museum experience revisited. Routledge.
 Falk, J.H., 2016. Identity and the museum visitor experience. Routledge.
 Foster, J. and Sheppard, J., 2016. British Archives: A Guide to archive resources in the
UK. Springer.
 Liu, T., Li, M. and Shen, H., 2016. 14 What Makes Visitors Spend More? Effects of
Motivations on Daily Expenditure. Tourist Behaviour: An International Perspective,
p.124.
 Mason, P., 2015. Tourism impacts, planning and management. Routledge.
 Mowforth, M. and Munt, I., 2015. Tourism and sustainability: Development,
globalisation and new tourism in the third world. Routledge.
 Page, S.J., 2014. Tourism management. Routledge.
 Scott, C.A. ed., 2016. Museums and public value: creating sustainable futures.
Routledge.
 Vanhove, N., 2017. The Economics of Tourism Destinations: Theory and Practice.
Routledge.
 Vanhove, N., 2017. The Economics of Tourism Destinations: Theory and Practice.
Routledge.
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